Apparatus for engraving sound vibrations on flexible records



P651 1936. M. A. LICHTEN 2,032,062

APPARATUS FOR ENGRAVING SOUND VIBRATIONS ON FLEXIBLE RECORDS Filed Feb. 2, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR M Q ATTORNEY Feb. 25, 1936.- H N 2,032,062

APPARATUS FOR ENGRAVING SOUND VIBRATIONS ON FLEXIBLE RECORDS Filed. Feb. 2, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IVE QE BY 7M A lTORNEY Feb. 25, 1935.

M. A. LICHTEN I 2,632,062 APPARATUS FOR ENGRAVING SOUND VIBRATIONS ON, FLEXIBLE RECORDS Filed Feb. 2, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 714 Q IEEN OE 77A1TORNEY Patented F eb. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR ENGRAVING SOUND "1-. BRATIONS N FLEXIBLE RECORDS Maurice A. Lichten, Fort Howard, Md., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Fidelitone Records, Inc., a. corporation of New York Application February 2,1933, Serial No. 654,782

7 Claims.

An object of the invention is the provision of improved apparatus adapted for the engraving of sound vibrations from the outside to the inside of flexible records or vice versa whereby the depth of the sound track will be more nearly uniform so that tendencies toward surface noise on reproduction will be reduced and other advantages secured.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter more clearly appear, my invention comprehends a novel apparatus for engraving sound vibrations on flexible records and wherein a much more constant depth of cut is maintained.

It further comprehends novel means for supporting and for effecting the revolution of a flexible record.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided apparatus wherein-flexible records are positively revolved upon a stationary resilient support, thus enabling the cutting of a groove having much greater uniformity than would otherwise be possible and the reproduction of sound in an especially satisfactory manner.

Other novel features of construction and advantage will hereinafter more clearly appear in the detailed description and the appended claims. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, I have shown in the accompanying'drawings a typical embodiment of it, which, in practice, will give reliable and satisfactory results. It is, however, to be understood that this embodiment is typical only and that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized, and the invention is not limited to the specific arrangement, organization or function of these instrumentalities as herein set forth.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of one type of ma.- chine for engraving sound vibrations on flexible material and embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan 'view of "an indicating dial employed.

Figure 3 is a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a novel form of stylus which may be used in connection with the invention.

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the construction seen in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 1,

showing more particularly the'detalls of the cutting head and its supporting arm.

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the construction seen in Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a section substantially on line 1-1 a manner in which the tubular post is mounted and the manner in which its vertical adjustment is efiected.

Similar numerals of reference sponding parts.

Referring to the drawings:- The operating mechanism of the machine is indicate correpreferably mounted on a base plate I which may,

if desired, be placed in any suitable or conventional type of cabinet. The base I has depending from it a bearing member 2 in which is journalled a driving shaft 3. In order to effect vertical adjustment of this shaft its lower end is mounted on a ball 4 against which bears an adjusting screw 5 in threaded engagement with the bearing and a lock nut 6 is provided to fix the adjusting screw in the position to which it has been adjusted. The base plate is apertured, as at l, to permit the shaft 3 to pass therethrough, see

Figure 7, and the upper end of the shaft is tato pered, as at 8, in order to adapt it to receive a fly wheel 9 which frictionally engages a tapered portion of the shaft. The fly wheel is preferably in the form of a disc havinga depending flange l0 which is driven in a novel manner by means of a motor drive, various features of which are claimed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 51,776, filed November 27, 1935, which is a continuation-in-part of the present case.

One or more electric motors may'be employed so their respective motor. Each fastening device I2 is positioned oil-center and passes through a resilient washer I, see Figure 6, and is connected with the base plate so that each motor will tilt or turn in such a direction that the motor will tend to cause the flexible driving collar I5 on the motor shaft to always be in driving engage ment with the resilient band 16 secured to the depending flange of the fly wheel. As illustrated,

the driving collar and the ring are made of rubber.

The motors employed are constant speed motors so that the fly wheel will be driven at a constant speed. The driving shaft 3 cooperates with a driving coupling I! in the form of a block of material having driving pins [8 which enter openings I 9 in the fly wheel 9. This coupling member I! is provided with upwardly directed driving members or pins 20 which are circum- ,9

adapted to extend the centering pin 24 extending upwardly from the central portion of the coupling l1.

It is customary in devices of this character to have the record which is to be engraved carried and driven by a rotatable turn table but in accordance with this invention the flexible record to be engraved is driven by the coupling connection with the driving shaft and a rotatable turn table is not employed.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a stationary record supporting table 25 which surrounds the fly wheel and is provided with a depending flange 26 which is fixed to the base plate by means of suitable fastening devices 21. The stationary table is provided with a layer of sponge rubber 28 and to the upper face of this layer of sponge rubber is secured a layer. of felt 29, it being understood that the flexible record to be engraved is supported on the felt surface of the stationary table.

The driving shaft 3 is provided with a worm 30 which is adapted to mesh with a worm 3| on a worm shaft 32 journalled in bearings 33 carried by the base plate and having a worm 34 adapted to mesh with the teeth of a gear segment 35 which is carried at the free end of an arm 36, preferably made of spring material. The outer end of this arm is fixed to the tubular post 31 into which extends a stationary shaft 38, the lower end of which is secured by fastening devices 39 to a bracket 40 depending from the base plate 6. The shaft 38 at its upper end carries a ball 4! on which is placed a flanged plunger 42 which extends through the closed upper end of the tubular post. The base plate has an opening through which the lower end of the tubular post extends. The tubular post 31 has fulcrumed in it a shaft 43 to which a cam lever is fixed and provided with a cam which rides on the top face of the plunger 42. The post also has fulcrumed in it at 43, a second cam lever 45 loose on the shaft and having its cam face adapted to ride on the plunger 42 in order to raise the post and has a dwell at one end which retains the post in its uppermost position as will be hereinafter fully explained. The tubular post 31 has fixed to it one end of an arm 46 which is adapted to be fed across the flexible record.

There may be provided a cutting head of any desired or conventional type. In the exemplified embodiment there is utilized a cutting head 41 having the cars 48 which are movably connected withthe forward end of the supporting arm 46 by means of a pivot pin 49. The cutting head 41 carries a cutting stylus'50. The cutting head 41 has secured to it above its pivotal point, as at 5|, a cord '52 which passes around a reel 53, the

shaft 54 of which is mounted in the arm 4G and a friction washer 55 is provided so that the reel will stay in any position to which it has been adjusted. The cutting head 41 has rising from it a post 56 to which'is connected one end of an elastic member 51, the opposite end of which is fixed to a shoe 58 slidable in a tube 59, secured to the arm 46 by suitable fastening devices 60. The tube is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 6! through which extends a threaded rod 62 secured to the shoe 58 and adapted to receive a nut 63 between which and the tube is interposed a washer 64. It will thus be seen that when the nut 63 is tightened the inner end of the elastic member 51 is fixed in the position to which it has been adjusted. The elastic member 51 may be in the form of an elastic or rubber band.

The segment carrying arm 36 has connected with it a cord 65 which passes around a pulley 66 mounted on a shaft 61 carried by the bracket 68 secured to the base plate I. The pulley 66 has fixed to it an indicator disc 69 having any desired graduations 10 so that the position of the cutting stylus with respect to the surface of the record on the stationary table can be established. A spring 1| has one end fixed to the indicating disc 69 in any desired manner and its opposite end is fixed to the bracket. The base plate I has an opening 12 which is covered by a glass lens 13 so that the graduations on the indicating disc 69 will be visible. A cord 14 has one end fixed to' the segment arm 36 and the opposite endto a switch in a bracket 15 carried by the base plate and having a controlling arm 16 which is in the path of the gear segment 35 so that when the cutting head 41 reaches the limit of its inward movement the electric motors II will have their circuits opened base plate I, as will be understood by reference to Figure 1.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 3, it will be noted that in rear of the cutting edge 8| it is backedofi as at 82 in order that it will burnish the sound track which is being cut.

Claims to various of the features referred to above including the novel form of sound head supporting means and the novel form of stylus exemplified are containedin my co-pending application, Serial No. 44,138, filed October 9, 1935, which is a continuation-in-part of the present case.

As before explained, this machine is for the purpose of engraving sound vibrations on flexible records, such as, for example, records which are made of cellulose nitrate or 'celluloseacetate, although it is to be understood that the sound vibrations can be engraved on any desired type of flexible record. Any desired thickness of flexible record can be'employed but the conventional flexible record now-in use is'about ten thousandths of an inch in thickness. v In engraving a flexible record many difilculties have been encountered and it has not heretofore,

been deemed possible tocut a sound track having a highly uniform depth from the, outside diameter to the inside diameter of the track,.or vice versa, with a minimum amount of surface noise. This has'been due largely to the flexibility of themaapplication, Serial No. 44,138, and SerlalNo. 51',-

776; assuming that the electric motors II are revolving it will beapparent that the resilient aoeaoca driving rolls it engage the resilient annulus or band and cause the fly wheel 9 revolre at a constant speed. as before explained, the motors are mounted off-center so that there is always a tendency for the driving rolls it to engage the annulus it thereby preventing any jumping or intermittent action in the rotation and the fly wheel will be continuously driven. The drive of the shaft 3 also causes the coupling ll to be driven and this coupling is connected by the pins 2d with the record so that the record is revolved on the felt surface 29 01 the stationary table.

The flexible record is resiliently supported so that when the stylus is cutting against the record it will always out in substantially the same 1101i? is limited in its downward movement by the cord ment of the cutting head, the latter would swing y downwardly as it is plvotally supported at one side. If a high or hard spot is encountered in the record being out, the cutting head is allowed to freely float upwardly so that a constant depth of cut is always maintained. The depth of cut is governed by the position of the shoe B in the tube 59 and this can be adjusted by loosening the nut '63, moving the shoe 58 to proper position,

and then tightening the nut 63.

If a record is to be changed the lever 45 is used which raises the post 31 to its extreme upward position and retains it in such position. The arm 36 is flexible so that when the adjustment is made for the angle of the cutting stylus the gear segment 35 will remain in mesh with its drive worm 8t, but, when the cam lever 55 is moved upwardly into the position seen in dotted lines in Figure ,9, then the gear segment 85 will be disconnected from its driving worm 38. When the cuttinghead reaches the limit of its inward movement the gear segment 35 engages the switch It to throw such switch and cause the opening of the-circuit for the motors ll so that the machine cannot be injured by the cutting head overrunning its stop position. The downward movement of the cutting head is limited by the cord 62 and the reel or spool 53 will stay in any position to which it has been adjusted due to its frictional mounting on the supporting arm 56. As the segment carrying arm 36 turns it will be apparent that the indicator disc 69 will turn with it so that one can always determine by the indicating mechanism the position of the cutting stylus.

It will be apparent that as the driving shaft 3 revolves it will revolve the worm shaft 32 and thereby the worm 34 causing a swinging movement of the gear segment 35 in one direction and, of course, a corresponding movement of the arm 65 which carries the cutting head.

The circuit is opened by movement of thesegmerit arm to its starting position due to the provision or" the cord 78 connected with the switch.

By having the record resiliently supported so that it can be slightly deformed at the cutting location, I am able to cut flexible records which 5 are wavy, deformed or buckled and still obtain a much more uniform depth of cut and a smoother cut.

One or more driving pins can be employed and one or more can be simultaneously driving. I preferably employ a plurality of such driving pins which are circumferentiaily spaced so as to engage openings in the central portion of the record and to provide an even drive on all portions of the record.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a new and useful method of and apparatus for engraving sound vibrations on flexible records which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description, and while I have, in the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof which will give in practice satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative andnot in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Lettersv Patent, is:

1. In a machine for engraving sound vibrations on flexible records, a stationary support having a resilient record supporting surface and means to revolve a flexible record on said support.

2. In a machine for engraving sound vibrations on flexible records, va stationary support having a resilient record supporting surface and means to revolve a flexible record on said support, said means including a plurality of driving members 40 adapted to extend into openings in the record.

3. In a record engraving machine, a stationary table, a layer of rubber thereon, a layer of felt above the rubber, and means to revolve a flexible record on said table.

4. A portable record engraving machine, comprising a stationary table for supporting the record, means to revolve a flexible record on said stationary table, and means to cut a sound track in therecord.

5. The combination with a stationary support. of a flexible record thereon, having at its central portion circumferentially spaced openings, and a revoluble driving member having driving pins entering said openings to revolve said record on said stationary support.

6. The combination with a stationary support having a central opening, of a; driving coupling extending into said opening and having upwardly directed pins, and a flexible record having .open- 50 ings to receive said pins and revolved thereby on said stationary support.

7. A recording or reproducing machine comprising a stationary support having a resilient surface for supporting a flexible record member, 95 and means including a rotatable member having a multiplicity of pins adapted to enter openings near the center of a flexible record on said support to revolve said record.

MAURICE A. LICH'I'EN. 

